


Dragonfire

by loopyhoopyfrood



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Groundhog Day, M/M, Temporary Character Death
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-06-28
Packaged: 2019-05-29 20:35:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15081218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/loopyhoopyfrood/pseuds/loopyhoopyfrood
Summary: When Merlin awakes, it’s to a bucket of cold water over his head and a prince in his chambers telling him that there’s a dragon in the courtyard.





	Dragonfire

When Merlin awakes, it’s to a bucket of cold water over his head and a prince in his chambers telling him that there’s a dragon in the courtyard.

It turns out that when Arthur says there’s a dragon in the courtyard, what he actually means is that there’s a dragon _above_ the courtyard, but Merlin isn’t about to start splitting hairs. In all honesty, he’s too busy trying to stop _Arthur_ from being split in two, as the prince fires arrow after arrow at the scaled beast whilst stubbornly ignoring the rocks and flames being fired right back. Merlin’s doing his best to keep Arthur out of the line of _literal_ fire, but his usual tactic of hiding behind a rock whilst a falling branch conveniently takes care of things was proving surprisingly difficult. Partly because any Merlin-sized rocks suitable for hiding Merlin-sized people were currently smouldering under the assault of magical fire, but mostly because it was hard to drop a branch on something that was already significantly higher than any tree in the nearby vicinity.

Thankfully, this particular dragon seems to have absolutely terrible aim, missing the gathered knights by enough of a margin that the worse they’ve suffered so far is a slightly smoky cloak. The stone floor is becoming pleasantly warmed, and apart from a nuisance, the dragon seems to be essentially acting as nothing more than a very effective weed killer. Given the choice between a singed eyebrow or two and finding himself with a front row seat to the chopping block, Merlin’s not as much of an idiot as Arthur thinks he is. It’s an obvious choice, and so he’s perfectly willing to let the knights shoot fruitlessly at it until he can come up with a way of interfering that will ensure he doesn’t end up being burnt alive, either by the dragon _or_ at the stake. That is, until the dragon’s aim improves drastically, and suddenly keeping his magic a secret doesn’t seem all that important as Merlin watches Arthur’s body become engulfed in dragonfire.

There’s no time for spells, yet Merlin is summoning every speck of his not insignificant power even as he watches the charred body that used to be his prince fall to the stone floor. Steadfastly ignoring the evidence of his eyes as they glow brighter and harsher than any of the flames around him, Merlin lets loose every spark of magic under his command with a powerful roar of grief and defiance. He lets the magic lead, barely aware of what’s he’s doing, and yet when the dragon crashes to the ground in front of him, dead, he can’t bring himself to be surprised. He had given his magic free reign, and his magic, just like his heart, had always belonged solely to Arthur.

No one moves as Merlin falls to his knees beside Arthur’s blackened remains, sure enough in the dragon’s death to stop shooting but not so convinced that they’ll lower their weapons. They don’t mean to, but they find themselves averting their eyes as Merlin cradles Arthur’s body in an embrace that loudly sings a secret even greater than the sorcery he’s just revealed. Merlin closes his eyes as if it will allow him to see golden hair and perfect blue eyes in place of the burnt and decaying form now seared into his memory, and he screams words of magic without thought to ears around him. His magic fails to respond, already spent, and despite how hard he fights Merlin can’t help but succumb to the blackness that encroaches. He collapses, the stone floor still dragon-warmed beneath him.

When he awakes, and discovers what his magic _actually_ did, he cries. Because there’s a bucket of cold water over his head, and a prince in his chambers telling him that there’s a dragon in the courtyard. It turns out there’s a dragon _above_ the courtyard, but Merlin isn’t about to start splitting hairs. It’s a choice between a dead prince and a front row seat on the chopping block, and really, Merlin thinks, as he steps in front of Arthur with his eyes glowing brighter and harsher than any of the flames around them, it’s not much of a choice at all.


End file.
